Desperate Times
by Bobbi
Summary: Sometimes old grudges have to be put aside for the greater good, but can Sirius, Remus and Severus do it? The war has begun but old conflicts are dividing the side of light magic.
1. Moony and Padfoot

All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

Thump, thump, thump.

Go away. Not getting up. The gentle patter of rain outside was relaxing, making it all the less likely that he would get out of bed and answer the door. He snuggled down deeper under the warm duvet and let his mind drift into that blissful half-awake, half-asleep stupor.

Thump, thump, thump.

Louder. As his sleep-fuzzed brain regained its grip on consciousness, he began to realise that whoever was knocking was probably not enjoying the rain as much as he was.

THUMP, THUMP!

"Mmmm, coming," he mumbled incoherently, clumsily dragging himself out of bed and making his way slowly to the front door. He flinched as he turned on the hall light, the brightness stabbing painfully at his sleepy eyes.

Squinting, he unlocked the door and peered out into the dark rain, shivering as a blast of cold air hit him. He could see the lonely little road that ran past his house, the distant lights from the nearest city dotting the horizon with tiny pinpricks of light. He watched as flurries of leaves were blown over his front lawn, twirling and dancing in the wind like frenzied ice-dancers. But no one was there. He frowned. Suddenly something extremely cold, wet and furry brushed up against his leg, making him jump. He looked down in time to see a large black dog disappear into the living room.

Padfoot? He quickly re-locked the door and walked into the living room to see a tall, thin man standing in front of a suddenly roaring fire, shivering. Remus stood and gaped gormlessly for a moment or two and tried to collect his thoughts, earning a wry smile from the man in his front room. He gave himself a mental shake. "Sirius?"

Sirius nodded. "Remus. It's good to see you again." He looked closely at Remus, as though suspecting that the feeling wasn't mutual.

"What -- I mean ... why ...?" _Get a grip._

"Dumbledore sent me."

Remus nodded dumbly. It had been about a year since he had last seen his old friend, and the circumstances had not exactly been ideal for catching up. _If you have kept your head, _he told himself bitterly for what seemed like the millionth time, _that wouldn't matter now, though, would it?_ He took in Sirius' haggard appearance. He was still painfully thin.Remembering his manners, he dragged Sirius through to the kitchen. "You look starved. What do you want to eat? I have soup, or --"

"Soup's fine," Sirius interrupted, sitting down at the old wooden table. "Just whatever you have."

Remus busied himself making soup and toast.

"This is a nice house," Sirius commented, sounded slightly nervous. Remus realised his welcome had been less than warm.

Feeling guilty, he nodded, offering a tired smile. "Yes, I have a job at the moment so I'm not doing too badly as far as money is concerned."

Sirius looked pleased. "Where?"

"An apothecary a bit down the road. Even better, the woman who owns it knows about my lycanthropy and she doesn't care. It pays well. I think she does it more because she enjoys it than because she needs the money."

"Moony, that's great!"

"I suppose it is," he said, smiling at the old nickname. He was incredibly grateful to old Mrs Summers for hiring him even knowing about his condition, and he was very fond of her and his job, but he had loved teaching and felt that his knowledge could be put to better use.

"I've got a lot to tell you," said Sirius after a pause.

"Go on."

"Well, the short version is that Voldemort is back, thanks to our old friend. That's the main reason I'm here."

Remus' head jerked up. Voldemort _back_? All of a sudden a million questions formed in his mind, along with a rush of whirling emotions. He stared at Sirius, trying to make sense of what he had just said and settled on, "_How_?"

"Pettigrew," Sirius spat. "He helped regenerate him. He's back."

Remus put a bowl of soup and some toast down in front of Sirius. "But ... how?"

Sirius told him about the Triwizard Tournament as he ate, from suspicious beginning to tragic end. "And that's why I'm here," he concluded. "I've been to everyone else already, so, well...Dumbledore said ... I mean, if it's okay with you ... that I ... er ..."

"You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want," Remus said, correctly interpreting his friend's sudden unease. "It'll be nice to have the company." He shook his head and gazed out the window into the night. "I can't believe Harry managed to escape. And poor Cedric. His parents must be beside themselves. He was a great kid; really bright. What a waste ..."

Sirius sighed. "All of the houses were pretty upset about it, not just Hufflepuff. He was pretty popular. And Dumbledore told the kids exactly how he died. Said something about the truth being preferable to lies, according to Harry's letters. He's right, of course, but I doubt many parents will be happy about it. And Fudge is making things difficult."

"Well, he'll have to admit to the truth sooner or later. He's going to have an interesting time trying to explain away Death Eater attacks if he doesn't."

Sirius nodded mutely. It struck Remus anew how much older Sirius looked. Although his old friend had filled out a bit since they last saw each other, traces of the old Sirius were almost gone, hidden beneath a starved, gaunt mask. His thin body was still trembling with the cold and his hair hung lank and lifeless over his face as he stared morosely into his empty soup bowl. Remus' mind drifted into the now all too familiar train of thought that always began with his wondering why they couldn't have spotted that Peter had turned against them. How could they have been so _blind_? They had been constantly on their guard, regarding everyone they didn't know with a certain amount of suspicion, working non-stop to try to clear up in the wake of the almost daily Death Eater attacks and hide them from the Muggles. And yet, they had failed to spot that one of their own had betrayed them all. Little Peter. A coward and a murderer. And to kill a _child_. Because that's all Cedric really was. He hadn't even left school, probably had little if any idea of some of the horrors that existed outside of Hogwarts' protective walls ...

Sirius broke the silence. "We'll have to meet up with the rest of the Order at some point; try to come up with some sort of defensive plan that won't attract the Ministry's attention."

"Fine. Do they all know about you, then?"

"Some, not all. I thought old Gus might kick up a bit of a fuss, but he seemed really pleased. He hasn't changed much. Arabella Figg was stuffing food in my face the whole time I was there. When the hell did she get all those _cats_? The little cretins kept mistaking me for some sort of scratching post." He rolled up his sleeve and revealed a criss-crossing pattern of thin red scratches. Remus chuckled. "Everyone was okay. Dumbledore owled them all to tell them I was coming. Molly Weasley knows as well."

"Good. Come through to the living room. It's warmer in there."

They settled down in front of the cheerfully crackling fire. A thought struck Remus as he stared into it. "Where did you get the wand?" he asked.

Sirius grinned. "Well, let's just say I may have ... borrowed it from someone ..."

"Sirius!"

"He was drunk and he tried to kick me! As Padfoot, I mean. It's his own fault he's now wandless."

Remus sighed, smiling at the image of the big black dog running off with some bloke's wand.

"So, _Prof _... what was it like having free access to the staff room at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked, a mischievous grin spread over his face, taking years off it.

Remus laughed. "Believe it or not, Padfoot, I had better things to do than put itching powder in Severus's chair."

"What could be better than that? He lost you your job. Harry told me."

"Well ... it was for the best," Remus said uncomfortably. He almost had himself convinced.

"Not for the kids, it wasn't. Harry said you were everyone's favourite teacher and the only DADA teacher they'd had who knew his stuff. You're a good teacher. Christ, you even managed to teach Harry to conjure a _Patronus_, and that Patronus saved quite a few lives, mine included. They were all really sorry to see you go." He grinned again. "Mr. Popular, eh?"

Remus, slightly embarrassed, said nothing. He would have loved to have stayed, but it just wasn't an option. He could have killed James' son that night. James and Lily's_ son_. He could never have forgiven himself if he had harmed anyone, and the only way to be sure that he wouldn't was to stay well away.

Sirius seemed to pick up on his change of mood. "_One mistake_. Harry told me about the Wolfsbane Potion. Anyone would have forgotten under the circumstances, and it all worked out okay."

"Not for you, it didn't," Remus reminded him lightly.

"I'm hanging in there," Sirius said, with a ghost of the old cocky Sirius Black grin. "Anyway, I'm safe at the moment. With the Ministry trying to cover up Voldemort's return, the heat's been taken off me a bit."

"That's something, at least."

"So does the potion really work?"

Remus nodded, sipping his tea. "It's amazing. It's probably a bit like the Animagus transformation, only a bit more ... painful. I could think completely clearly so just went to sleep in my office until the next day."

"But I suppose Snape had to make it for you?"

Remus grinned. He had been slightly ashamed that he had had felt a small, childish satisfaction when he realised that Dumbledore was making Severus make the potion for him. It was obvious that Snape was more than a bit afraid of him, but his pride forced him to disguise it as disgust and hatred. _Which_, he reminded himself, _was probably also pretty close to the truth_. "Yep. He hated every minute of it, but he didn't really have a choice."

Sirius's laugh turned into a huge yawn. Remus saw that his eyelids were drooping. He stood up and extinguished the fire. "Come on, I'll show you your room."

Sirius followed him down the hall to the spare room. He looked around appreciatively. "Very nice, Moony. Beats the floor of a cave, at any rate."

"I'd certainly hope so. Goodnight, Padfoot."

"Goodnight, Moony."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius woke up to bright sunlight streaming through a large window on the wall opposite his bed. He stretched luxuriously and yawned, shielding his eyes. If he had had a nightmare last night it must have been fairly tame because he couldn't remember it and he hadn't woken up during the night. It had been the first night in God knew how long that he hadn't slept as a dog. He hadn't been brave enough until now. The Dementors came back to him in his dreams, forcing the guilt and grief back down upon him in sickening waves. He knew he was innocent most of the time, but when the Dementors got too close, things got confused. Suddenly he was a murderer. A cold-blooded, evil man who killed his best friends and orphaned their baby son ... he killed Peter, left Moony to deal with his difficult life alone ... but then it would shift. He believed Remus to be capable of killing two of his best friends ... he had been to stupid, too cowardly to be the Secret Keeper _..."Well, Snapey, if you're that desperate to know, who am I to keep it from you, you slimy bastard? Just push the knot on the base of the Whomping Willow and take a look ..." ... "Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?" ... "The evidence speaks for itself, Black. You are hereby sentenced to like imprisonment in Azkaban, never to be free again, and there may you rot ... there may you rot ... THERE MAY YOU ROT ..."_ Sirius sat up abruptly, rubbing his eyes vigorously, as though trying to wipe away the awful thoughts and memories. _Don't dwell on it, Black_, he told himself fiercely, _it's over_.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He was glad to be at Moony's. His friend's calm demeanour always made him feel like things would be okay. Sirius looked around the room and smiled in spite of himself, feeling very happy for Remus that he had a job that was allowing him to live properly. He remembered back...before...that he went through jobs like most people went through clean underwear, because of bigoted idiots who couldn't see past his disease. With another yawn he got up, padded over to the door and went down the hall to where he remembered the kitchen to be.

Remus was sitting at the table, reading the Daily Prophet. He looked up. "Afternoon, Padfoot."

Sirius plonked himself down the chair opposite his friend. "Afternoon?"

Remus nodded. "It's half past two. Sleep well?"

"Like a log. It was the best night's sleep I've had in years."

"Hungry?"

"Yeah, a bit. Can I get a bath first, though? I feel horrible." His hair felt matted and greasy, he felt grubby all over and he desperately needed to shave. He certainly looked the part of the insane escaped Azkabanian.

"Of course. The bathroom's at the end of the hall."

Sirius stayed in the bath for well over an hour, scrubbing. One of the things that reminded him most forcefully that he was an escaped convict was that he rarely had any time, or place, for that matter, to wash. He spent much of his time feeling dirty and disgusting. Once he was satisfied, having scrubbed his skin red, shaved and hacked a few inches from the bottom of his newly clean hair, he got out and dried himself with a large blue towel. He cast a critical look at his torn robes, which were lying in an unsightly heap on the floor. Upon opening the bathroom door, however, he was pleased to see that Remus had left a clean set just outside. They were slate grey and new, by the looks of things.

Feeling happier and more like his old self than he had in months, he made his way back to the kitchen. Remus wasn't there, but Sirius heard voices coming from the living room. He stopped dead, barely resisting the urge to panic and run away, and transformed into his large, fuzzy alter-ego. Peering cautiously around the door, he was relieved to see Albus Dumbledore's head in the fire, talking to Remus. Sirius changed again and walked in. Albus smiled when he saw him. "Ah, Sirius. You're looking well."

"Thank you, Headmaster. I feel well." _Better_, anyway.

"I was just telling Remus here that the Order will be having a meeting tomorrow at noon. You could come in your Animagus form if you like, as Remus' pet dog."

Sirius cast an amused look at Remus, who was smiling slightly mischievously. _If he thinks he's getting me into a collar and leash he can think again_. "Of course."

"Excellent. I have something in mind for you two but I'll explain all tomorrow. I'd best be off now. I have a meeting with Cornelius."

Sirius snorted and muttered, "Good luck."

Dumbledore smiled briefly and was gone.

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	2. Dumbledore's Request

"There is _no way_. Okay? No."

"It's more convincing like this. Look at the size of you!"

"No, no, _no_. I mean it! They won't question you!"

"We can't risk people getting suspicious! Everyone's on edge enough as it is."

"They won't be! No one's going to care ..."

"And do you want to wait and see?"

"I ... but ... _you _--"

"Great! I knew you'd agree in the end!" And with that Remus walked cheerfully, albeit quickly, out of the living room, leaving a disbelieving Sirius standing gaping after him. _You can run, but you can't hide_, he thought darkly after a moment. He glowered around the room in general, wondering how, despite his determination that Remus was not going to make him back down on this, he was now standing with a cheerful red collar in his hand.

Remus' voice called through to him from the kitchen. "And don't moan about it or I might accidentally make it pink and flowery."

Sirius, knowing it was probably wise to take Remus at his word, kept sullenly quiet.

**

Once they were satisfied that the house was locked up, and Remus was satisfied that Padfoot had his collar on, they set off by Floo to Hogwarts. The two of them stumbled ungracefully out into Dumbledore's office with five minutes to spare, where most of the Order already sat around chattering. Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody sat in a corner glaring suspiciously around the room, magic eye rotating wildly. It seemed, and understandably so, Remus supposed, that last year's experience had done his already considerable paranoia no favours. Albus was chatting amiably to a young man whom Remus recognised as the eldest Weasley boy. Bill, if he remembered correctly. Minerva McGonagall sat regally in an armchair, talking to Arabella Figg. Remus saw to his great amusement that the conversation was looking rather heated. He knew that when the two women got into a debate about something, there was no stopping them. Equally opinionated and strong-minded, neither would back down, and their 'discussions' could go on for hours. There had been some memorable ones in the first war. Gilbert Whimple entered right behind Remus and Sirius. There were a few other people whom Remus recognised, but did not know. "Remus Lupin!" called a gruff voice. "How are ye, lad? It's been a while, eh?"

Remus smiled and took a seat beside the ageing Ministry worker. "Mundungus," he said warmly. "It's good to see you again." Mundungus Fletcher worked in the Improper Use of Magic Office, and had done for as long as Remus had known him.

"Aye, lad, it is that." He nodded down at the distinctly annoyed-looking dog sitting at Remus' feet. "And I suppose this is Si ... er ... Snuffles, then?"

"Yes, it is," said Remus, grinning down at a disgruntled Padfoot.

Mundungus snorted with laughter. "What in God's name have ye put around the poor thing's neck? He looks like a bloody girl!"

Padfoot narrowed his eyes and snorted. Remus laughed. "I told him if he didn't behave it was going to be pink." He turned his attention to Sirius. "And if you so much as move a muscle when Severus arrives I'll top the ensemble off with a pretty bow."

Mundungus burst out laughing, a hoarse rumble. "Aye, I can just see it," he said, reaching down to scratch behind Padfoot's ears. Remus cast Padfoot an amused look, which was reciprocated with a soft growl.

At that moment the door burst open and in stalked Severus Snape, black cloak billowing, looking even sourer than usual. What was annoying him became apparent immediately when Hagrid followed him in. "An' that's when I realised I wasn' givin' them the righ' _kind_ o' lettuce," he was saying loudly, apparently completely oblivious to Snape's lack of interest. Snape stomped in over to the window and threw himself down into a chair, while Hagrid completely abandoned his tale and made a beeline for Padfoot.

"An' who's this?" he asked. He looked at Remus. "Well if it isn' Professor Lupin!" he said cheerfully. "How've yeh been?"

"I've been well, thanks, Hagrid," replied Remus. "Yourself?"

"No' bad, no' bad," came the reply. He wasn't looking at Remus, however, but at Padfoot. "Look at the size o' that! What kind o' dog is he? I could've done with a dog that size when I was lookin' fer a playmate fer Fluffy!"

"Er ... I'm not sure, actually. He was a stray until he turned up on my doorstep. I decided to take pity and take him in."

"Yeh ... fine size o' a dog, that. I'm no' sure about the collar, though. No' very in-keepin' with his size ... bit girly if yeh ask me ..." He eyed the collar doubtfully.

Remus barely swallowed a laugh as Padfoot bristled at that comment and shot a doggy-glare at him.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please?" came Dumbledore's voice over the chatter. Everyone quietened down immediately. "Thank you. Now, before we start, there are a few people I'd like to introduce. Firstly, for those who do not know him, this is Bill Weasley, Arthur Weasley's eldest." He indicated the red-haired man to his right. "He works for Gringotts as a Curse-Breaker. Simon Keddle," here he nodded towards a tall, thin man with a goatee, "works for the Daily Prophet. Daphne Miles, Aizel Beckett and Gilbert Whimple work at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Committee on Experimental Charms, respectively."

There followed discussion about the (admittedly few) Death-Eater attacks that had so far taken place. It seemed that the Death-Eaters were choosing their victims carefully and had so far only attacked Muggles. The Ministry were, in effect, helping them by turning up soon after, clearing up the mess and trying to hide that it ever happened.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to get someone in there first," said Arabella. She looked at Daphne. "You'll hear about these things fairly quickly, won't you? Working where you do? If we make sure there's always someone standing by, you could contact them immediately and they can get to the site of the attack, hopefully before the Ministry. If we can get evidence, Mr Keddle can easily put together a story about it. Then there won't be any way for Fudge to deny that You-Know-Who is back."

Daphne Miles nodded thoughtfully. "I could, but I'd have to be informed every day who I'd be contacting. And there's no guarantee that I'd get the news before someone else did."

"Are there others in your department who will be willing to help?" asked Arabella.

Minerva interrupted. "Arabella, all that will happen there is that we will have a wide-scale panic on our hands. It's amazing what people will do for money, and Minister Fudge could perfectly easily counter-attack with accusations against us. We'll need far more solid proof than that before we can make the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named public, especially if we're going to be accusing the likes of Lucius Malfoy of dark activities. Many of the Death Eaters Harry Potter saw in the graveyard that night work for Fudge."

Arabella leaned forward. "I disagree, Minerva," she stated simply. There were collective groans around the table as everyone familiar with the proceedings prepared for the imminent argument, but Remus saw a twinkle in the Headmaster's eye. Arabella continued. "Fudge cares more about his position than he does about the safety of his constituents, yes? If anything will persuade him to take precautions, it's public opinion. And if the public believes that Lucius Malfoy and whoever else are involved in the Dark Arts, it won't be long before the Minister acts accordingly."

"Lucius Malfoy is a very influential man, Arabella," Minerva said, also leaning forward. The fact that they were both dangerously light in tone was usually indicative of tempers flaring. Around the table, Remus was aware of people looking nervously at Dumbledore. "He can and will make things difficult for us. Fudge is a blithering fool. And if we make the rift between us and the Ministry public, there will be chaos."

Arabella looked annoyed.

** 

Twenty minutes later, everyone at the table except Minerva, Arabella and Dumbledore were staring vacantly around with glazed eyes. Even Padfoot was sprawled messily on the floor, the picture of canine boredom. Minerva and Arabella were really going at it now, and Dumbledore was attempting in vain to placate the two women.

"If you think that he's just going to change his mind like _that_," Minerva said hotly, snapping her fingers, "then I'm afraid you're very much mistaken!"

"Now, if we can just --" began Dumbledore.

"We cannot keep something this big a secret!" interrupted Arabella shrilly. "The Minister is far too --"

"Ladies!" rumbled Dumbledore, and the two women, along with everyone else in the room, jumped and stared at him. He continued, as pleasant as ever. "I'm glad we're tossing ideas about, but I fear we will have to move on. There are other things to discuss, and I would like to get to them fairly soon, if you please."

Looking suitably abashed but no less angry, the women fell silent.

**

An hour later, the members of the Order were preparing to leave. "Severus and Remus," said Dumbledore. "If you two could stay here for just a few minutes more, please."

Severus shot a poisonous look at the large black dog lying at Remus' feet. Sirius wasted no time in baring his teeth menacingly. Snape scowled but said nothing.

"Now then," said Dumbledore cheerfully one everyone was gone. "Lemon drop?"

Snape shook his head, glaring at the bag of lemon drops as though it was single-handedly responsible for his being stuck in a room with the two people he hated most.

"No, thank you," Remus replied. 

Sirius regained his human form and stuck his hand in the bag, receiving a very pleased look from Dumbledore. "Thanks." Snape snorted and muttered something under his breath.

"Now, I'll tell you all what I need you to do for me." He looked at the three men, no doubt taking in the Death Stares passing thick and fast between Sirius and Snape and the determination Remus was putting into ignoring them. Dumbledore sighed. "You probably won't like it, but I can't think of anyone who I would rather have do this. That, and everyone else has jobs that they cannot leave. I can find a part-time Potions teacher for while you are away, Severus. And, of course, you will be paid."

"Away?" asked Snape, looking viciously at Sirius and Remus. "Away with _them_?"

"Yes," Albus replied. "Tell me, have any of you heard of a man named Vlad Comaneci?"

Remus frowned slightly. The name certainly rang a bell. Sirius and Snape both shook their heads.

"He resides in Romania and is the head of a powerful werewolf clan." _Oh_. Snape raised his eyebrows in a _what-do-those-disgusting-creatures-have-to-do-with-me?_ fashion and glowered at Remus.

"Now, we know that Voldemort will try to get the werewolves on side, and we need to prevent that. Preferably by persuading them to fight for our side. If not, then even for them to stay neutral would be a big help. So I need you three to go to Romania and see what you can do."

Severus looked horrified. "_What_?" he exploded. "You want me to go to Romania, _with them_, and try to make friends with the _werewolves_?"

"Yes, Severus, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "You need to learn to work together and I believe that your combined powers and skills will be invaluable."

Sirius was looking furiously at Snape. He opened his mouth to say something.

"Where can we find him?" interrupted Remus, preferring to leave the fireworks for when they were not in the Headmaster's presence.

"He is reputed to be staying somewhere just outside of a town called Brasov. I expect he'll know of your arrival, so if you cannot find him, I'm sure he'll find you."

"And how long do you want us to stay there?"

"Well ... unless there is absolutely no way of persuading them and they utterly refuse...as long as it takes, I think."

Remus nodded. Sirius and Severus didn't, choosing instead to sit scowling at each other. The Headmaster sighed. "I believe that if the three of you work _together_, you will be successful. Severus, I will need you to bring supplies so that you can prepare the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus, please."

Snape nodded, looking from pleased. "Yes, Headmaster."

Albus clapped his hands together cheerfully. "Wonderful! Now, is tomorrow too soon to leave? I have sorted out accommodation for you. There is a cottage just outside the town of Brasov that I believe will be suitable. Here is the key."

Remus, startled, took the ornate brass key from the Headmaster's outstretched hand. How did he do it? The Headmaster looked at Snape. "If you are summoned, Severus, you will be able to Apparate immediately, which will prevent any suspicion."

Snape nodded tightly. "The only problem is," continued Albus, "that you cannot Apparate into the cottage. You will have to Apparate into Brasov and walk from there."

Another nod. "Fine."

"Excellent. In that case, you should probably get plenty of rest tonight. Apparition to somewhere so far will require a good bit of energy."

The three men bid the Headmaster goodbye. Surprisingly, neither Snape nor Sirius said a word when they got out. Snape swept past them with a dark look when they got out and Sirius muttered "Git" softly before transforming, but no more. Remus hoped that they could show as much restraint when they were away.

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	3. Preparations

All characters in this chapter belong to J. K. Rowling.

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Severus Snape stormed furiously around his rooms in the dungeons of Hogwarts, swearing to himself and throwing things messily into a large suitcase. He absolutely could not believe what was being asked of him. To go to _Romania_, the country of vampires, werewolves and God only knew what other kinds of disgusting imitative humans, with one of said creatures and an escaped mass-murderer. _Insane_. And for what? The support of a group of mangy, flea-bitten monsters_? Isn't worth the energy it's going to take to Apparate_, he thought, slamming some toiletries into his case.

Muttering to himself some more, he gave up on the packing and poured himself a drink, glaring intensely into the fire. He was too agitated to sit down. After pacing about a bit, he decided to do the only thing that could calm him down. Getting out his silver cauldron as an _up-yours_ to the werewolf, he decided to make an anti-fatigue draught. They kept quite well as long as it was cool, and he'd undoubtedly need it, going where he was. Severus fully planned to sit awake every night surrounded by an abundance of sharp silver and wooden objects.

He stomped, still seething, into his store cupboard and emerged with the required ingredients. Slamming them down onto his desk, he took out his wand and lit a fire under the cauldron.

As he chopped, measured, stirred and sifted, he could feel himself relaxing. The physical act of making the potion seemed to force stress out of his body; he could pour his anger and frustration into the cauldron and turn it into something useful. The musty, slightly sweet aroma of the half-complete concoction wafted softly up to his nostrils, and a tiny smile crossed his lips. The feeling of making something from nothing was greatly satisfactory to Severus. It was rather how he felt about his life. _That_ potion, however, was barely past the beginning stages. Rebuilding his life to the point where he could bear to look into the mirror again was only the preparation of the ingredients, he reflected grimly. He hadn't realised it at the time, but when he'd been a Death Eater, he had been slowly poisoning himself and it was to his eternal gratitude that he'd seen what was really happening before he had added the final ingredient. Before he had reached the Point of No Return, so to speak. The Dark Lord had made him feel..._alive_. Wanted, appreciated. He had been praised for his ability at making poisons, and to a loyal Death Eater the praise of Lord Voldemort was _everything_. It was their life-force, what they strove for, what they'd do anything for. And Severus had. The poisons he had made were not typical, run-of-the-mill toxic potions. No. They did the most horrific, most terrible things to human beings imaginable. Severus had generally tried to steer clear of violence, preferring instead to supply the means for it. He remembered the first and only time he had witnessed the effects of one of these potions first-hand.

__

Severus walked into one of the dungeons at Malfoy Manor. His head was held high and his face impassive in a convincing display of confidence. Beneath the stoic mask, however, he felt sick. He could hear terrified shrieks coming from the other dungeons around him. The very walls_ seemed to be screaming, and he knew that he would rather die than know what was happening on the other side of them. The sickening, metallic tang of blood hung in the cool air._

On a rough-hewn wooden table in the middle of the small room lay a young man, tied down binding spells. He looked up, terrified, when Severus entered the room and began to struggle frantically.

Lord Voldemort came into the dungeon behind him. "Dominic," he said, sounding almost disappointed. Severus looked at him curiously.

"This, my boy, was once one of my best Death Eaters. He would do anything for Lord Voldemort. Wouldn't you, Dominic?"

"My Lord, I still would! Anything! Anything at all...!" shrieked the man desperately. He was barely more than a boy, really, noted Severus.

"Unfortunately, I have proof of quite the contrary. It seems that you have been passing information about Lord Voldemort's plans to his enemies. Tell me, Dominic, was it money or cowardice?" The Dark Lord was beginning to look angry.

"Neither! I didn't, I swear! I would never!"

"Don't lie to me," hissed Voldemort, sounding incredibly snake-like. "Severus, the potion."

Terrified, Severus walked over to Dominic and forced his mouth open. Voldemort watched with a sickeningly satisfied expression on his snake face as the potion dribbled down his throat.

"Stand back, my boy, and watch your beautiful creation at work," said Voldemort.

Obediently, Severus stepped back and watched Dominic. He was silent for a few minutes, staring upward, an expression of confusion on his face. Then he began to scream. They were the most awful, the most insanely terrified screams Severus had heard. He screamed and screamed, and Severus used inordinate amounts of self-restraint to keep from screaming along with him. He didn't know what the potion would do. He was always just given the ingredients and the instructions. It was too difficult to be able to tell from the ingredients what it would do, and he never asked. Voldemort liked the arcane arts.

Dominic's screaming soon began to sound different. He was almost gargling, and his stomach seemed to be sinking in the middle.

"Look," Voldemort whispered reverently, like an art critic commenting on a particularly beautiful masterpiece. "Isn't it beautiful?"

And with a horror Severus had never previously experienced, and had never experienced since, he realised what the potion was doing.

It was melting him.

From the inside out.

He stood, frozen, unable to tear his horrified eyes away from the sight before him. Dominic's body was literally melting away, the liquid remains of his insides were pouring from every orifice in his body...

That night, he had gone to Dumbledore.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Got everything, Moony?"

"I think so," replied Remus, trying to force his suitcase on his bed shut.

"And what did Mrs Summers say?"

"She was really good about it. Said that the job's always open for me if I want it." He was now throwing his entire weight onto the stubbornly unzipped suitcase.

"Sounds like a nice lady."

"She is. A very nice lady..." Sirius took pity and went to help. Between the two of them the suitcase grudgingly zipped up.

"Sure you've got enough?" asked Sirius, snickering as he examined the bulging case.

"Nope. We're going to have to go to Diagon Alley and get you some new robes. You can't wear your old ones and I'll need mine."

Sirius felt awful, not to mention embarrassed. His friend was more generous than his income would allow. Always had been. "Moony, you don't have to--"

"I don't _have_ to. I want to. It isn't much, but it's been a while since anyone's done anything nice for you."

Sirius was half touched, half incredulous. "_What_? You've already let me invade your house, use your things and eat your food. I'd say that's enough."

"We're going. You're about my size so there won't be a problem finding ones that fit."

Sirius reluctantly transformed, growling at the evil gleam in Remus' eyes as he got out the collar again.

**

Two hours later, Remus and Padfoot stumbled out of Remus' living room fire with bags of clothes, potions ingredients (Remus insisted that he wouldn't allow Snape to pay for ingredients for a potion that wasn't even for him) and chocolate. Lots of chocolate. "You can never have too much," Remus explained to the dog, much to the confusion of the shopkeeper, as he bought half the shop.

"You don't think there are going to be any Dementors there, do you?" Sirius asked.

Remus looked at Sirius, seeing right through his feigned calmness. His eyes and the way his knuckles were white on his fisted hands gave away the terror that the mere thought of the creatures caused his friend. "Well...I doubt it," he said truthfully. He certainly hoped there wouldn't be. Remus didn't like Dementors, but he had a strong Patronus. He doubted Sirius would have the strength of mind to come up with a happy memory whilst in a Dementor's presence, despite the fact that Sirius was undoubtedly a powerful wizard. He knew he wouldn't if he had the looming threat of the Dementor's Kiss over him, day and night.

Sirius flopped down onto the sofa. "I hope not. Snape won't think twice about letting them have me..."

Remus shook his head emphatically. "He wouldn't. Dumbledore trusts Severus, and as much as you and he dislike each other, I don't think he'd abuse that trust."

Sirius snorted. "I wonder what it's like...?" he mused, staring into the fire.

"What?"

"The Kiss. I mean, do you think it hurts, or...what?"

"I don't know. And neither of us will ever have to find out," Remus answered determinedly, hoping that Sirius would believe him. He didn't want to ask what Azkaban was like. If Sirius wanted to talk about it, he could. If not, Remus wouldn't push him. He couldn't fail to notice how tense Sirius got at the mention of it, though. He was plainly terrified that he'd be caught again, but Remus knew that he, and Dumbledore for that matter, would never let that happen.

Sirius said nothing. Remus cast around for something that would cheer him up. "Have you spoken to Harry at all?"

Had Sirius been in canine form when Remus asked that, his ears would have pricked up and his tail would have started wagging. "About a week ago. I sent him a letter. I might get to see him tomorrow, though, when we go to Hogwarts to get _Snape_." The last word dripped with malice.

"I'm sure Albus will let you. It'll be nice to see him again, actually."

Sirius nodded. "He actually asked in one of his letters if we could go visit him when I got here."

Remus smiled. He had liked Harry and his friends, and had been touched at Harry's efforts, futile or not, to persuade him to continue teaching. He had an underlying suspicion, however, that Harry was angry at him for letting Peter escape. The nasty little part of his brain that told him he was a monster was having fun with that niggling little doubt. Remus shook his head and tried not to worry. He supposed he would find out tomorrow.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Well, that was an angsty chapter! Angsty for me, anyway.

Next chapter will be a but more cheerful, though. Sirius and Remus will see Harry again, there will be some verbal sparring between Sirius and Snape (always fun!) and the three men will get to Romania and probably meet the elusive Vlad Comaneci.

Please review!

Thanx

Bobbi xx


	4. Brasov

All characters except Vlad Comaneci belong to J. K. Rowling, not me (unfortunately). I'm in the process of hatching a nefarious plot to kidnap Remus but it's still in the beginning stages.

Okay: everyone who's reviewed so far. Reva Ayanami, Leah, Caet Rae, JamesPotter, anon, naughtynat, Athene, anon, Jo, anon, thenidnightangel, Lady Kara and Louise. Big, big, big, big thankyous all round!

"_Now_ are we ready?" asked an impatient, bordering-on-irate Sirius.

"Yes. No! Hang on..."

Sirius groaned and threw himself irritably down onto the sofa. _Four times!_ He had never understood Remus' complete inability to be on time for anything when he was a kid, and he was no closer to enlightenment now. First he had forgotten the potions ingredients he had bought for Snape, then the vast amounts of chocolate he had purchased from Honeydukes, then his wand. "What now?"

"It's the--hang on...no...oh, good. Never mind, I've got it," Remus said, triumphantly holding aloft that _sodding collar_ which Sirius was beginning to hate with a passion.

"_What_? Why do we need that?" he protested, sounding like a whiny child and not caring.

"Just in case," Remus answered, trying unsuccessfully to hide his amusement.

Sirius scowled. "Well, if you're quite finished packing the entire contents of your house, can we please _go_?"

"Yes, yes...or...wait...actually..." Seeing the murderous expression on Sirius' face he quickly backpedalled. "I...think we're all set. Heh."

Without waiting for Remus to discover that he had forgotten his toothbrush or Registry papers or some other such thing, Sirius stepped quickly into the fire and emerged in Albus Dumbledore's office. He had always loved Dumbledore's office, in spite of the fact that he had usually been here to be punished for some form of Slytherin-baiting. The lush, rich carpets and upholstery along with the fascinating and completely befuddling shiny gadgets littering the shelves, the ancient, smiling portraits on the walls and the almost perpetually crackling fire never failed to make him feel at home, and more importantly, safe. Not a feeling he had been overly familiar with of late.

"Ah, Sirius. And how do I find you today?" asked Dumbledore, putting down the quill he had been writing with and standing up.

"Very well, thank you. Yourself?"

"Oh, wonderful, wonderful. And where is Remus?" The aged headmaster did indeed look particularly cheerful that morning.

"Probably forgotten something else," Sirius answered grumpily, but at that moment the crackling flames turned green and out stepped a sooty Remus.

To Sirius' maddened incredulity, he wasn't carrying anything. At all. "_Where's your luggage_?" he wailed. "Don't tell me you managed to forget the _whole lot_! Honestly, Moony, you're just something else..."

Albus looked amused. Remus sighed in mock insult. "I shrunk it, Padfoot. It's in my pocket."

There was a soft knock at the door. "Come in," called Albus.

The door opened and in walked Harry. "Harry!" said Sirius, giving the boy a hug.

"Hi, Sirius. You look well," he replied, looking a bit surprised at the appearance of his Godfather.

"Well, Moony let me invade his house and eat all his food, so I'm being well looked after," Sirius said, grinning.

"Hi, Professor Lupin," greeted Harry.

"Hello, Harry. Just Remus, I'm not your Professor any more. How are you?"

"Okay," answered Harry indifferently. "Lots of work, but..."

"Well, I'll go check Severus is ready," said Albus, and with a smile and a nod, he left.

"And our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher hasn't a clue. He's worse than Snape for hating the Gryffindors. In fact," he continued dispiritedly, "I think it's just me."

Remus looked sympathetic. The poor kid had so many enemies, all because of something that happened fifteen years ago. "Who do you have?"

"Some bloke called Professor DeVil," Harry sighed.

Sirius frowned. "Bit of a suggestive name, isn't it?"

"Oh, I don't think he's working for Voldemort," said Harry, shrugging. "He just doesn't like me. Sort of like Snape, actually. So where exactly are you two going?"

"Three," amended Remus, grinning at the pained expression on Sirius' face.

"Three?"

"Good old Snapey's coming, too," Sirius muttered, looking darkly at Harry. "We're going to be stuck in a house in Romania with that greasy git."

Harry started laughing. "And I thought it was bad for me," he sniggered. "You two and Snape..._living_ together..." Remus had to agree. The outlook was bleak.

The door burst open again and in piled Ron and Hermione, bickering as usual. "Viktor's very nice! I'm getting fed up of you bad-mouthing him just because you--"

"I'm not bad-mouthing him, I'm just telling it like it is!"

"You are bad-mouthing him! And it's very childish saying horrible things about someone who's been nothing but nice to you just because you're jealous!" Hermione snapped.

"Wha--_jealous_?" blustered Ron, going red.

"Yes, jealous! He's very nice and--"

"Well, if _Vicky's_ that nice, why don't you just go off and marry him?" snapped Ron. A rather childish comment, perhaps, but it ended the argument on the grounds that Hermione had clearly won.

Remus coughed quietly, trying, rather unsuccessfully, to keep a straight face. Sirius seemed to be faring no better in the poker-face stakes. He was watching them with a sage expression on his face.

"Professor!" exclaimed Hermione, noticing the other occupants of the room for the first time. "What are you doing here? Are you taking over Defence Against the Dark Arts again? That would be wonderful! Because Professor DeVil seems to think the class is called Defence Against Harry Potter."

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "Keeps making comments about You-Know-Who and stuff." He made his voice deep and gravelly. "_If we were to follow Potter's example we'd be throwing young children at dark wizards_..."

"So are you back?" asked Hermione eagerly. "Oh, hi, Sirius. How are you both, anyway?"

Sirius exchanged amused looks with Remus as they tried to process the rapid-fire questions that were being hurled at them.

"We're both fine," answered Remus. "And I'm not teaching again. Sirius and I are going on a...little trip with Professor Snape."

He was highly amused at the looks Ron and Hermione gave Sirius and him. Horrified and pitying respectively. "Where?" asked Ron. "And why? And, more importantly, why are you being made to go with _Snape_?"

Sirius grinned while Remus tried to look impassive. "We're going to Romania to try to persuade the werewolves not to join Voldemort," answered Sirius, ignoring Ron's flinch at the mention of the name.

"Really?" asked Hermione, looking delighted. "I read that there are whole clans of werewolves and vampires there. Are you going to see them? That would be _fascinating_!"

"Yeah..." muttered Sirius. "Maybe Snape'll meet his own species."

Harry and Ron snorted with laughter while Remus and Hermione looked at him sternly.

The door opened again and in walked Albus followed by Snape, who was positive radiating disgust. He scowled around the room, offering no more than a curt nod to Remus' greeting and completely ignoring everyone else.

"Well now!" said Dumbledore cheerfully, clapping his hands together. "It looks like our happy campers are ready to go."

Harry, Ron and Hermione all began sniggering. Said happy campers were looking distinctly _un_happy. Snape was slumped in a chair by the window, scowling and exuding an air of foreboding. Sirius was glaring at him, wand hand twitching and making barely audible growling noises and Remus was watching the pair warily, one hand extended as a subtle but firm order to Sirius to stay put. Dumbledore was ignoring the hostility, however, and seemed determined that they were going to become the best of friends during their trip. "You three had best be off now, I think. I have prepared a Portkey. If you just go North out of the village, the cottage is not too far a walk." He was wearing an undisguised expression of amusement now. "The password is 'Slythindor'"

Snape snorted and Remus rolled his eyes good-naturedly. _Trust Albus_.

Sirius and Remus bid goodbye to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Snape sneered his farewells. The three of them touched the Portkey and vanished.

**

They found themselves in a small side-street. The sky was grey and miserable and the wind howled forlornly around them, whipping their hair and scattering crackling dead leaves around their feet. The place had a lonely, almost desperate feel to it. Remus wandered out of the side-street and onto a cobbled road running perpendicularly to it. The houses lining the street were tall and white with shutters on the windows, banging against the walls with strangely empty-sounding thuds. Of the few people there were to be seen, one or two gave them curious looks as they passed by. Even the people looked oddly grey and washed out. It was cold. Remus shivered. He noticed that Sirius and Severus looked no happier. Sirius had pulled his cloak around him and was looking slightly suspicious. Severus looked thoroughly disgusted. "It's a Muggle town, then," he commented, as an old woman wrapped up in shawls gawked her way by. He sent her on her way with a dark scowl.

"Cheerful little place, isn't it?" said Sirius, walking over to stand next to him. "Snape'll fit right in."

Remus looked at Severus and was relieved to note that he apparently hadn't heard Sirius' comment. He had cast a Point Me spell and was looking to the right, up the street. "It's this way," he muttered, and began walking. They received more odd looks as they walked. Remus wasn't sure if it was the robes or the fact that they were strangers, but either way he felt distinctly uncomfortable under a one-eyed old man's scrutinising stare as they passed by him. 

It didn't take them long to reach the end of what was apparently the main street. The houses ended and were replaced with trees and plants, swaying and rustling lazily in the wind. There was an ominous looking forest not too far to the north-east and just before it was a large house, lonely in its surroundings, with a barn.

As it was the only house in the vicinity, apart from those in Brasov to the south, the three men walked in its direction. Closer up they could see that despite its unlived-in appearance, it was in good condition. "It's...nice," attempted Sirius.

The brass doorknocker (a distinctly eerie androgynous face) opened its eyes. "Password?" it demanded.

Severus glowered at it and spat "Slythindor" out, grimacing as though it was painful just to say it. Remus and Sirius exchanged amused looks. The knocker glared at them suspiciously and the door swung open.

The three men entered, out of the wind. The hall they found themselves in was dark and narrow, but nicely decorated in warm terracotta. Severus opened the nearest door and went in. Remus and Sirius followed him into what turned out to be a very large sitting room. The focal point of the room was a huge, ornate fireplace set into one wall. There were two three-seat sofas and a coffee table, on top of which sat a vase of dried flowers. It was very cosy. _A good thing, too_, thought Remus, noticing the icy looks Sirius and Severus were shooting each other.

"Nice room," he commented, with forced, happy-families joviality. Severus raised a smooth eyebrow.

"Quite." He clearly wasn't going to be humouring anyone.

The adjoining room was a dining room with rich, deep red walls. Sirius began to laugh. "Look," he said, pointing. In the centre of the large, solid oak table sat a bowl of bright yellow lemon drops. Remus grinned. Their zesty cheerfulness contrasted the severe room madly in a very Dumbledore-like manner. They went back into the hall and up the stairs. There were four doors leading off the landing and another staircase. Severus entered one room, disappeared into it and shut the door without a word. Remus opened another and was not particularly surprised to see a bedroom plushly decorated in red and gold. A piece of parchment lay on the sizeable four-poster bed. Remus entered the room and picked it up.

__

Remus,

The password to get into the barn is "a se lupta cu saracia", just in case you need to. Enjoy your stay.

Albus

Remus frowned. What on earth did that mean? And more to the point, how did you pronounce it? He sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to use the barn. Severus was doing the Wolfsbane Potion for him. No doubt there was some bizarre reason behind it, though. He took his diminutive suitcase out of his pocket and put it on the bed. "Finite incantatum," he said, pointing his wand at it. The case snapped back to its considerable usual size.

There was a sharp knock on the door and Severus walked in. "As I thought," he said, his scowl taking in the Gryffindor colours.

"Hello, Severus," Remus said politely. "Do you know how you pronounce this?" He handed him the note. 

Severus read it and snorted in amusement. "Appropriate," he muttered. "It means something about keeping the wolf from the door. But I don't know how you pronounce it, no. I came to ask if you and Black like spaghetti bolognaise."

"Spaghetti bolognaise?" parroted Remus, surprised.

"Yes," was the impatient reply. "I was going to make some for dinner. Unless, that is, you would rather make something yourself?"

"No," Remus said quickly. He didn't particularly enjoy cooking, nor was he very good at it. "Spaghetti bolognaise is fine. Sirius likes it, too."

"Oh, good," Severus replied in a voice thick with sarcasm. "The other room on this floor is a bathroom, by the way. There's another one upstairs, as well as a library, a study and another bedroom." With that he left. Remus went to find Sirius and found him in the other Gryffindor bedroom, unpacking.

"Severus is doing spaghetti bolognaise for dinner, Sirius," he told his friend, laughing at the expression of horror he received in return.

"He's..._what_? _Snape_ is making dinner?"

"Yes, _Severus_ is making dinner. And he won't poison you."

"Wouldn't be so sure," grumbled Sirius. Remus marvelled at how long the two men could hold a grudge. Surely after all these years they could at least be civil to one another?

As Sirius expelled a string of colourful insults about the Potions Master he dismissed that thought. He'd just have try to live with it without succumbing to the already growing urge to look them in a room together and not let them out until they had acknowledged that they were on the same side and therefore had to try to get on.

Ok, we didn't meet Vlad in this one. _Probably_ in the next one. There was none of the verbal sparring I promised either. Sorry!! At least not between Sirius and Snape, anyway. I'm hopeless, I know. Next chapter though, definitely. This one was taken up with other stuff.

Please review, it'll be muuuuuch appreciated.

Bobbi xx


	5. Meals and Memories

All characters belong to J.K. Rowling except Vlad Comaneci who is 100% mine.

Dinner that evening was a tense affair. Mercifully, the sarcastic comments were kept to a bare minimum, but the tension could have been cut with a knife. Upon sitting down at the table, Sirius had made no attempt to hide the fact that he was checking the food over for traces of poison. Severus looked at him darkly. "If I wanted to poison you, Black, I'd have thought of a better way to do it than to put it in the meal that _I'm eating too_," he snapped.

Remus pointedly said nothing and began eating. Sirius watched him suspiciously for a few moments, obviously expecting to have to clean up his destroyed remains while Severus looked on in sadistic amusement. When he saw that Remus appeared to still be in one piece and Severus wasn't looking evilly satisfied, he grudgingly ate a mouthful.

"When are we going to meet this _creature_ we're here to see, then, Lupin?" asked Severus, looking coldly at Remus.

"I'm not sure," admitted Remus, choosing to ignore the dig. There was enough hostility as it was without him adding to it. "Albus said we'd most likely hear from him first. If not, I'm sure we'll find him."

Severus looked more than a bit irritated. "You mean you have no idea how to get in contact with him?"

"That's what he said, Snape," Sirius growled. "He'll get in touch with us."

Severus sneered. "I was unaware that you needed a spokesperson, Lupin. Perhaps you could tell him to keep his idiotic comments to himself in future."

Remus sighed. _This is not how I want to spend the next few weeks_. "I'll ask around Brasov tomorrow."

Satisfied, Severus went back to his meal. A few minutes passed in deafening silence before Severus stood up.

"By the way, Lupin, I prepared the Wolfsbane Potion earlier. You'll need to take it tonight."

"Yes, I know." _Only too well_. "Thanks, Severus."

Snape nodded curtly and left the room. Sirius glared after him. "I don't trust him," he said flatly.

"Sirius, I know you two have had your differences, but you are on the _same side_, and surely the future of light magic is more important than some childhood prank?"

"He's the one who won't let that go," grumbled Sirius. "I don't trust him for entirely different reasons."

Remus groaned inwardly. He really didn't want to get involved in an anti-Severus tirade. "Well, I'll let you keep them to yourself."

They carried the dishes through to the kitchen where, with a flick of Remus's wand, they were sparklingly clean again. "You realise this means we're going to have to cook at some point, don't you?" he said, grinning at the expression that crossed Sirius's face as he put the plates away.

"Cook for _him_?"

"Yes. He cooked tonight. It's only fair, Padfoot."

"Since when do Slytherins play fair?" muttered Sirius. "I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be cooking a candlelit meal for _Snape_."

Remus laughed out loud at that. _Me neither, Sirius._ The only involvement that Sirius had had in Snape's meals in the past was the furtive addition of some powder or potion or other, with the sole idea of Slytherin humiliation in mind. Bubble potions and suchlike... "I take it your culinary skills haven't improved any, and I _know_ mine haven't. I think if anyone's going to be poisoning anyone it will be us inadvertently poisoning him."

"Inadvertent or not, it'd cheer me up."

"_Sirius_," Remus said in his patented Professorial voice. "I forbid you to go putting anything...unseemly in Severus's food."

Sirius grinned. "Unseemly? Moi?"

"Vous."

Sirius laughed. "I won't, I won't. But, tell me, Prof. During your time as his fellow teacher did you happen to notice any food he _really hated_? Any horrible allergies...?"

Remus shook his head, amused. He was amazed that Sirius was able to joke as he used to. And if Snape-bashing was keeping him afloat, then...who was he to stop him? Not that he wanted to encourage more animosity, but he was more concerned for his friend's welfare than Severus's pride. "Not to my knowledge," he answered truthfully. "If you remember, though, he used to drink his own potions when we were at school. If he could manage those it isn't likely that _food_ is going to upset his stomach much." Indeed, he had fond memories of watching a pint-sized Snape skulk, scowling into the Great Hall, or watching him walk into walls with apparently no idea of who or where he was. A particular favourite was a Rhyming Potion that he had made and drank to test it. Apparently he hadn't realised it was his potion that had been the cause of his bizarre poetry for the rest of the day and had decided to blame Sirius for it. A spat between the two that day had made for an extremely entertaining breakfast show.

__

Remus, Sirius, James and Peter sat in the Great Hall, eating breakfast and discussing the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. James was just telling his friends about the latest flying formations when a harsh, tuneless howl rose over the noise.

"Black, you ridiculous fool! You'll be expelled from this school!"

The four boys had looked round to see Snape storming furiously towards them, seemingly unable to control the stream of rhyming words flying from his mouth in perfect rhythm.

"You've got some cheek, you Gryffindor freak! I challenge you to a duel!"

Sirius had looked utterly delighted, as thought all his Christmases had come at once. He got up and stood next to Snape, slinging a companionable arm over his shoulder. "Snapey, you're rhymes are just great!" he'd sung tonelessly, loudly enough to get the attention of the few people in the room who hadn't already been watching. "Why do you seem so irate? Sing us a song! Snapey, go on! Lucky I already ate!"

"You're an unsufferable git!" Snape had screeched. "Nothing resembling wit! Take off this curse, or I'll do worse, so save me the time and DO IT!"

Remus, Peter and James had been crying with mirth. The expression on Snape's face was one of pure rage and Sirius was milking it for all it was worth. Remus had been astonished at how quickly Sirius was coming up with his rhymed replies. He'd always been a bright one.

"Now, now, young man, that's not nice," admonished Sirius loudly. "Now you've insulted me twice! Apologise now, _I'll tell you how, a simple 'sorry' will suffice!"_

"Professor, you should expel Black!" Snape had howled up at the teachers' table. "Lose this ridiculous hack! Make him go stay, far, far away, and make sure he never comes back!"

"Snapey, you oversized bat," warbled Sirius. "Let us have no more of that! Give us a tune, Snape, you buffoon, that's--"

The impromptu duet had ended when Snape had swung at a cackling Sirius, giving him a black eye. Sirius had been proud of that black eye, mostly because Snape had been given detention for it as well as having thirty points taken from Slytherin upon the discovery that his new-found love of poetry had been self-inflicted.

"Remus? Moooooony?"

"Hmmm? Oh, sorry," Remus said, seeing the odd look Sirius was giving him.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Sirius, looking half amused, half worried. "You were smiling to yourself."

"Oh, nothing much," he said, unable to suppress a smile.

"Okay." Sirius looked disbelieving but let it go. "Well, I was just asking if you knew what the werewolves around here do for the full moon?"

__

Good question. "No idea," Remus said thoughtfully. "They can't all have the Wolfsbane Potion. Who would be able to make that much of it?"

Sirius looked pensive. "What if they're in the forest there?" he asked, jerking his thumb towards the kitchen window through which they should see the dim outlines of trees swaying in the wind, "You'll be fine, I'll...probably be fine, but Snape won't. He's scared enough of _you_."

"Oh, I'd imagine Severus has plenty of silver on hand, should I have the sudden urge to eat him," Remus said dryly.

"I'm not worried, you understand," Sirius added hurriedly. "About him, anyway. But if they can smell him won't they try to get in here?"

"Well, maybe, assuming they are in the forest, but it's nothing a few strong locking charms won't prevent," answered Remus, hoping he was right. "I'd better go get the potion, actually. Don't want to forget _again_."

He started towards the door, but Sirius grabbed his arm. "Listen, I hope you aren't still beating yourself up over that. It worked out fine in the end."

Remus snorted. "Yes, it did. You're still a convict who's name causes fear second only to that of Voldemort, Harry's still living with Lily's awful sister and Peter's still on the lose, having just helped resurrect his old Master. You know, the one who caused all this in the first place..."

Sirius looked at him steadily. "I don't know how to make you believe me that no one thinks it's your fault. Hell, it never even _occurred_ to me that it could be. You're the _only_ one who thinks that."

Remus shook his head, not wanting to prolong the conversation. The fact that Sirius was being so forgiving, that he was so willing to forget that he had almost been given the Dementor's Kiss because of a stupid mistake made by his so-called 'friend', was eating him up. Hadn't he, Remus, been completely willing to believe that Sirius had indeed committed the crimes that had got him put into Azkaban in the first place? Had he even thought to question the Ministry's decision to lock him away? A brief few hours of disbelief, yes, but when he realised through the haze of misery and pain that Harry was now an orphan, he whole-heartedly agreed with their decision. He would have fed the key to a Manticore and thought nothing of it except a vague, grim satisfaction...

He sighed. "I'd best get the potion now, anyway, or I really _will_ forget."

With that, he left the room. Sirius stared after his friend. Why was he so insistent that he was to blame? Remus had never come right out and said it in so many words, but Sirius knew what he was thinking. Remus had saved his life that night, though. If he hadn't been there, Snape would have brought him straight up to the Ministry, if not the Dementors, no questions asked. And Sirius would have been worse than dead without anyone ever finding out that he was innocent...

He resolved himself to make sure Moony knew he wasn't to blame, and with a sigh, continued putting the plates away.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"You _cannot_ be thinking of leaving the house dressed like that, Lupin."

"Why not?" asked Remus, looking down at his robes.

"Well, forgive me if I managed to pick up the wrong end of the stick somewhere along the line, but I was under the impression that we were attempting inconspicuousness. Need I remind you that _Black_," Severus spat the name disgustedly, "is a world-famous Azkaban escapee? We're lucky he wasn't recognised yesterday."

"He won't be recognised here, Severus. This is a Muggle town, anyway. But you're right about the robes." With a flick of his wand the robes were gone and he was wearing trousers and a shirt.

Severus raised his eyebrows. "You're powers of logic astound me, Lupin. And what about Black? Is he accompanying you?"

To Severus's surprise, Remus started laughing. "Yes, he is. As a dog, of course."

Severus didn't bother asking what the insipid joke was. Undoubtedly something extremely idiotic and extremely Gryffinor. He found out, though, when Sirius wandered into the kitchen with a cheerful "Morning!" for Remus and a dark look for Severus. Remus smiled and held up a cheerful red collar. Severus looked at the look of disgust on Sirius's face and found himself fighting to keep looking disdainful. _Ah. Well, it's no less than he deserves. Damn menace should be kept on a leash all the time._

The rain lashed against the windows, and a strong wind howled. All in all, a thoroughly miserable day. It was, in fact, rather fitting of Severus's mood, although he did suspect that bright, cheerful sunshine would worsen it further. On the contrary, though, the place was wet and grey, making Brasov in the distance look even more like a ghost town that it had the day before.

Sirius looked at Severus. "Are _you_ coming?" The look of distaste on his face was almost enough to make Severus say yes, but the urge passed quickly enough.

"No, Black, I'm not. I'm staying here in case the creature turns up on the doorstep." With a cold look at the two other men, he turned and swept away.

Severus stomped up the stairs. He planned to do a bit more research into defence against werewolves. If he was to be stuck in a house with one with a colony of them in the area, he refused to be unprepared. _Albus has outdone himself this time_, he thought sourly as he walked upstairs. He had found something of interest in the extensive library at the top of the house the night before. The _Caveo Lupus_ charm supposedly issued a small jet of liquid silver from the caster's wand. It was just briefly mentioned in one of the books he had found, however, so he wasn't sure of the exact incantation, or, indeed, if it even really existed.

Severus would never have admitted it out loud, but he sincerely hoped Lupin was around when Comaneci did put in an appearance. Not only was he one of his _kind_, but he had an annoying ability to put people at ease. That, Severus had to admit, was not one of his own strongest suits. Added to the fact that the monsters put him on edge, and therefore made him irritable, the meeting with Comaneci probably wouldn't be overly successful without Lupin nearby.

As he settled down at a small table in the library with a pile of ancient, dusty tomes, he heard the front door slam downstairs. _Good_, he thought, lighting a single candle. He could get some peace for his research without those irritating canines getting in the way.

He read through the books for hours. Some of them were positively ancient. There were ones in obscure languages that he had never seen before (odd-looking, flowing, cursive scripts, jagged prints...) and ones that he knew to have gone out of use milleniums ago and couldn't read. The pages were faded and yellowed with age in many, and in some had gone brittle enough to break if not handled with extreme care. The shelves upon shelves of books, parchments and scrolls hid secrets that he didn't doubt hadn't been read in centuries. Books on the arcane arts were in abundance in this candle-lit treasure-trove of knowledge and information, and he found a good number of spells and potions that had been the stuff of rumours when he was a child. 

Severus was always at his most relaxed when he was either making a potion or researching, and he jumped when the doorbell rang. It took him a while to place just what the jarring _ding-dong_ sound was. It could barely be heard above the miserable weather outside. Annoyed at the interruption, he picked up his wand and went downstairs, lighting candles on the way to counter the growing darkness. He got to the front door and stood up straight, dignified, then pulled it open.

On the doorstep stood a tall man with black hair pulled back into a slick ponytail. His skin was pale and he was thin and angular looking. His prominent cheekbones were set of by a long, pointed nose. His thin lips pressed together as the ice-blue eyes took in Severus's expression of suspicion. He wore a set of black robes, quite different to Severus's own. "_Expelliarmus_!" he snapped, and Severus was unable to stop his wand flying from his own hand into that of the stranger before him.

Then the man pointed his own wand directly at a completely unarmed Severus's face.

Sorry that one took so long. I've been busy with exams! I should really apologise because that was an _awful_ chapter and I'm well aware of it. Sorry (again)! But it was getting quite long (for me, anyway) and I thought I'd leave it there. The next one's underway, though!

****

SR1918 - I wasn't sure about that bit! I thought that seeing as he wasn't there before the Gryffindors for their first DADA class, and he arrives after Harry for the first Anti-Dementor lesson, he was usually running about 5 minutes behind everyone else - bit like me, really! Only I'm closer to 5 hours...never mind! **Kanzer** - Sirius will have his moment. But I'm saying no more...! **Louise** - yep, he's a man of many talents, is Snapey! I know most people like to write Sirius as being an awful cook, but I thought Remus would be pretty bad, too, because he says in PoA he isn't much of a potion brewer. So he can't cook for the same reason that Snape can! If that makes sense... **Anon** - thanks! I love writing Snape, but Remus and Sirius are tricky. **themidnightangel** - he is, isn't he? And everyone thinks he's the quiet one...! **naughtynat** - thanks! I'm being ridiculously slow with them, but never mind... **Reva Ayanami** - Snapey's quite the gourmet chef, you know! There are more insults coming! **Anon** - thank you! **daniz** - they're just going to have to learn to get on, and I'll leave them in that house together until they do!

BTW, to get the Bubble Potions reference, you can find out what that's all about in The House Championship: The Underhand Way. Just a bit of shameless advertising...!

Please review!

Bobbi xx


	6. The First Meeting

All characters except Vlad Comaneci belong to J.K. Rowling.

Just picture Vlad with a Viktor Krum-type accent. There's no way I'm writing it the whole way through!

Severus stared at the man before him, not daring to move.

"I know why you are here," the man said, his crisp Romanian accent set off by the coldness of his voice. "Your people have caused enough trouble for me. My name is Vladimir Comaneci."

__

Oh, the creature. _Wonderful_. "I assure you," said Severus, furious with himself for getting caught unarmed; by an angry werewolf, no less, "that we didn't come to cause trouble. We were sent by Albus Dumbledore--"

He broke off abruptly when Comaneci seized Severus's left arm and yanked the sleeve up, exposing the Dark Mark. "You lie," he spat, looking disgustedly at it. He pushed Severus back into the house with his free hand, his wand still trained on Severus's face. "You are one of _them_."

Snape gritted his teeth. _Dammit_! "Listen--"

Comaneci slammed him hard up against the wall next to the living room door, his slightly shorter height seemingly irrelevant. "No. You listen. I want nothing to do with you people. I know what you are here for."

"What's going on?" asked a mild voice. To Severus's immense relief, it was Lupin. He was standing just inside the front door.

Comaneci let go of Severus's throat and whipped round. "Another one?" he snarled. "You won't take us."

"Mr. Comaneci, I presume?"

"You assume correctly," answered the creature coldly. Severus rubbed his throat, wishing fervently that he'd been wearing some Slytherin silver. _Mangy creatures. Both of them_. Nevertheless, he was relieved that he wouldn't have to be the one to deal with the rabid monster. He'd leave that to the other one.

Comaneci was not looking perturbed in the slightest that he was standing in between two wizards whom he clearly thought wanted to harm him. Instead, Severus noticed, he was looking closely at Lupin.

Lupin took a step forward and spoke again. "Well, I'm--"

"You are one of us."

Lupin looked surprised. _Never seen one of your own before, have you_? Severus thought maliciously. "Yes, that's right," answered Lupin pleasantly. "We were asked to come here by Albus Dumbledore--"

Comaneci was apparently intent on preventing anyone from managing a complete sentence in his presence, because he interrupted again. "I saw the Mark on his arm." He jerked his head towards Severus, who sneered in return. "He is one of _them_. And I suppose they have already taken you?"

Lupin's slightly confused expression had cleared upon mention of the Dark Mark. He shook his head. "No one has taken me. Severus is no longer on the Dark Side. He is a spy for our side now."

Comaneci sneered and pointed his wand at Lupin. "You lie."

Lupin gave a small sigh. "No, it's the truth. If you like, we can use the fire to contact Dumbledore."

Comaneci regarded Lupin with a mixture of anger and suspicion. "Very well," he answered.

Lupin made towards the living room, but before he could get there Black burst in through the open front door, wand raised. Severus groaned inwardly. _I always knew you were an imbecile, Black, but this is just the icing on the cake_. He restrained himself for casting an Unforgivable on him for his awful timing.

"What's going on?" Black demanded loudly. "I heard--"

Comaneci's eyes widened in recognition. "I knew it!" he roared, looking enraged. "You are all with him! The snake man!"

Black looked furious. "What the hell are you--"

"_Stupefy_!" shouted Comaneci, and he tossed Severus's wand down onto the floor and stepped over Black's prone body into the night, cloak billowing behind him.

***

Remus stared after him. _What on Earth was that all about_? He hurried over to Sirius and turned him over onto his back. "_Enervate_," he said, while Severus picked up his wand, scowling, and dusted it off.

"--talking about?" roared Sirius, catapulting up.

Remus heard a snort behind him, which may or may not have been muffled laughter. Sirius looked around, a confused expression on his face.

"Too late, Black," said Severus. "If it wasn't for your horrendous timing for one of your ridiculous acts of Gryffindor heroism, Comaneci wouldn't have gone. Although," he added, smirking, "seeing you hit your head on the floor rather made up for it."

Sirius snarled and got to his feet. "Is that so? Tell me, Snape. What was it that caused him to have his wand out in the first place? I always knew you were an unpleasant bastard, but I thought even you'd know not to go starting arguments with the _very people we're trying to get on side_!"

Remus placed himself between the two when Severus started towards Sirius. "I'll talk to him tomorrow, see if we can gain his trust. I think that we have a bit more of a problem now, though."

"What?" asked Sirius. "Why was he so angry? I mean, I know you have that effect on people, Snape, but I doubt even you would provoke a reaction that bad."

"Perhaps if you hadn't come barrelling in here like some kind of idiot, _Black_, you'd have found out," snapped Severus.

"It seems that the Death Eaters have been trying to recruit them, and from the way Vladimir reacted, they've been using force," Remus explained. "That's why he got so angry: he saw Severus's arm. And he must have recognised you."

Sirius's face paled. "You don't think he'll turn me in, do you?"

Remus shook his head, ignoring the muttered comments coming from Severus's general direction. "I doubt it. I don't know what the Romanian Ministry's like, but if it's anything like ours, they probably won't believe him. Plus, I'm not sure how much they know about Voldemort." He fervently hoped that he was right. Their first meeting hadn't exactly gone as planned.

"Crime doesn't pay, does it, Black?" sneered Snape.

"No, it doesn't," replied Sirius airily, although his eyes were blazing. "As I'm sure you realised when that thing on your arm caused Comaneci to start stunning people. Blown it now, haven't you?"

They both drew their wands at the same time, their faces showing equal burning hatred and contempt. Remus sighed impatiently and drew his own wand. "_Expelliarmus_."

The looks of surprise on Sirius and Severus's faces would have been comical under other circumstances. Remus pushed the front door shut and looked sternly at them both. "If you think that cursing each other is going to help, you're wrong. Clearly, there are, or were, Death Eaters in the area. If they aren't here now, it's pretty certain that they'll come back. Voldemort isn't just going to give up. I know Albus said that at a push, if we could persuade them to remain neutral, that would be enough, but obviously we're going to have to get them on side now. Squabbling amongst ourselves isn't the best way to make Vladimir trust us. And there's the added fact that you," he nodded towards Severus, "are in no position to be seen helping Sirius and I. Who knows what Voldemort will do if he finds out? _We need to be inconspicuous_."

Severus nodded grudgingly and stomped up the stairs, muttering. Sirius looked abashed. "You're right," he said. "If the Death Eaters are taking them by force it's going to make them _pretty_ vicious when the full moon comes round..."

Remus nodded. "I'll tell Albus, see what he says."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"What did the Headmaster say, Lupin?" asked Severus an hour later. He was feeling slightly calmer, having done a bit more research in the library.

Lupin sighed. "He's going to try to find out if any known Death Eaters who work for the Ministry are away at the moment. It will give us an idea of who to look out for. And he told us just to keep him posted on what's going on and to keep a low profile, if we can. Easier said than done, though. The main Death Eaters would recognise any one of us."

Black nodded. "Then again," he said, "I'd rather the Death Eaters recognised me than a Ministry employee." He shuddered and Severus rolled his eyes. _One wrong move, Black, and I'll see to it that the Minister of Magic himself is banging on the door before you know what's happening_. He, personally, wouldn't stop them hauling him back to his Azkaban cell. It would give him immense satisfaction to see Black's smug grin wiped off that murdering face...every time he saw him he was itching to hit him, or curse him, or..._something_.

__

Well, Snapey, if you're that desperate to know, who am I to keep it from you, you slimy bastard?

Severus clenched his fists and looked away. He owed too much to Albus to give vent to his feelings towards Black. Dammit! 

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sudden appearance of a searing, burning heat on his left forearm. A screaming pain that felt like it was tearing off the skin of his arm. He gasped and gritted his teeth_. No, God, no**..**_. But wishing it away didn't help, cooling solutions didn't help, even stunning himself hadn't worked. He had also once found out, the hard way, that trying to cut it off didn't help, either. The only way to relieve the pain was to go. Through the haze of pain, he wondered where his wand was so he could Apparate. The pain was worsening...all-consuming...

Lupin was watching him worriedly. "Severus?" he asked, taking a step towards him.

Severus jerked away. "Get my wand," he gritted out. "It's in the library. _Go_!"

Lupin disappeared. Black was looking at him oddly. It wasn't worry, it wasn't sympathy...but it wasn't satisfaction or malice, either...

__

Do you swear to bind yourself to me, to serve your Lord under the Dark Mark, renouncing Albus Dumbledore... 

Thumping footsteps...

__

...Muggles....

Something being pressed into his hand...

__

...Mudbloods...

And through sheer will to end the pain Severus was able to summon the presence of mind to Apparate to wherever the Mark took him.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, I've been surprisingly busy. Sorrrrrrrrry! And it's horribly, pathetically, feebly short. Oops...the next one will be longer, but I thought I'd better get a move on and upload this one.

By the way, I know the viewpoint I'm telling it from jumps around a lot. Is that a bad thing? If it makes it difficult to read, let me know and I'll try not to. It's sooo much harder to tell when it's your own piece of writing. Argh!

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The Nemesis Raptor - thanks! He is rude, isn't he? But that's why we love him! **The Jedi Wizard Hobbit** - for some reason, while I was writing that I couldn't think of a single word that rhymed with bat. And I agree about the slash thing, I don't write it myself. Thanks for reviewing! **Desideratus Fatum** - I think sometimes people do forget that, while they dislike each other, they're nearing forty. I'll be keeping the childish pranks away! **Louise** - aw, thanks! I enjoyed writing the book bit. Maybe because I love books; the older and dustier the better! **naughtynat** - evil, moi? Noooo. You never know, the wolves may well chase Sevvy ;-)! **JamesPotter** - yep, as you've probably gathered by now that was Vlad! Thanks loads for reviewing! **Hawaii** - I couldn't resist the collar thing, it was just too tempting! **themidnightangel** - hope you enjoyed your week off, jammy! Well, if Sirius gets freed and Snape's potions fall through, I can always get them an agent - they can be the next...*tries to think of people who sing duets* erm, duet...people. Mmm-hmm...Anyway, I'm sorry this one took so long, I'm hopeless, I know! **tia** - thanks for reviewing! I hate cliffies, too, but that's when other people write them! **Reva Ayanami** - absolutely. I love Sirius and Severus's little spats! Yep, I get a bit sick of them, too. Oh well. Thanks for reviewing! **mrs snape** - don't you worry - your Sevvie is absolutely fine!


	7. Death Eaters

As always, only Vlad is mine! Everyone else is J.K. Rowling's.

By the way, I know the Death Eaters wear masks, but Severus (typical man) managed to forget to bring his at the end of the last chapter. So, I'm going to accept that this was an oversight on his part and write the mask into his hand when he arrives at the meeting.

Sirius gazed numbly at the spot where Snape had been until moments ago. "I assume that was the call, then?" he said vaguely, even though he knew the answer. He knew perfectly well. Only one person, if he could indeed be called a person, could inflict that much sudden pain on someone.

"Yes," said Remus softly. "I hope he's okay. I'll tell Albus."

To say the least, Snape had risen a few notches in Sirius's estimations. Obviously, since he had found out that Snape was a spy, he had known that it would be unpleasant--probably downright awful, in fact--but he had never really thought about it. Snape was a proud bastard, he'd give him that, and he'd never admit to any weaknesses. Well, not in front of Sirius, he wouldn't, anyway. It was for this reason that Sirius had been shocked at the expression of outright agony on Snape's face, no matter how controlled he had managed to keep it. He had seen in his eyes an amount of emotion that he had never seen in them before. Disgust, fear, pain, anger. The spiteful words always coming from Snape's mouth had always been enough to seal his impression on Sirius. But in those few moments his face had been an open book. 

Sirius still didn't like him, _couldn't_ like him--years of arguments, fights and hatred couldn't and wouldn't allow it--but he seemed to have developed a sort of...respect...for what he did_. And to never get any recognition for it. No credit, no respect_. For a reformed Death Eater wouldn't be given any respect. And, frankly, Sirius felt more than a bit guilty. Maybe it was because he knew what it was like to be branded a criminal, a murderer.

As long as Snape never found out.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Severus Apparated into what appeared to be a graveyard, the pain in his arm mercifully gone. Of course, Severus knew that more was to come, if the Dark Lord's past behaviour was anything to go by. He looked around, a humourless smile gracing his lips. _Typical. Of course he would feel most at home amongst the dead_. The odd swaying yew tree broke up the endless panorama of gravestones around him. A few feet ahead stood a ring of cloaked figures. Severus walked forward, head held high, and took his place. Not everyone had yet arrived. "Why, Severus," muttered the person to his right. "How nice to see your senses haven't taken leave of you."

"Lucius," Severus greeted stonily. "I assure you that my senses are as good as they ever were."

"I'm pleased to hear it, Severus," Lucius replied. "We were rather worried when you didn't turn up to the first meeting." He sounded as though he wanted to say more, but at that moment Lord Voldemort stepped into the centre of the circle and everyone went silent.

"Ah, I see that one has come crawling back," he hissed. "Severus. Why, pray tell, were you not at our last meeting?"

Severus adopted a contrite tone of voice. "I deeply apologise, my Lord. I was unable to attend because I was in the presence of Albus Dumbledore at the time." He spat the Headmaster's name, feeling disgusted with himself as he did. "When Diggory and the Potter boy disappeared everyone was on red-alert. If I had Disapparated I would have been discovered."

"Ah, I see," said Voldemort. "So you choose your own skin over your Master?"

"No, my Lord. I would never. I merely thought it would be more beneficial if I were able to keep spying should anything go wrong. I was under Albus Dumbledore's nose all night, and I was unaware that Mad-Eye Moody was actually Barty Crouch."

Voldemort's red eyes narrowed. "And yet, when it was discovered you were unable to prevent that fool, Fudge, handing him over to the Dementors."

"My Lord, he was never out of Dumbledore's sight. I had no chance to set him free." It was a lie, of course, but Voldemort couldn't know that. "If I had been able to let Crouch go I would certainly have done so."

"Cowardice," hissed the Dark Lord, "is not something I am willing to tolerate."

"No, my Lord," murmured Severus. "Of course not. I will do better next time."

Voldemort considered him. "I know not whether to believe you, Severus. However, I am willing to give you the chance to redeem yourself."

__

Wonderful. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Two things, actually. One is to bring young Mr. Malfoy with you next time. It is high time he is brought into our ranks. Isn't that right, Lucius?"

Lucius Malfoy nodded. "Yes, my Lord. He has been looking forward to it. He will make you proud."

"I hope so, Lucius, I hope so." Voldemort turned his attention back to Severus. "The other thing I would like you to do for me is to find Potter's godfather and bring him to me. Wormtail tells me that Potter knows of his innocence, so undoubtedly that Muggle-loving fool Dumbledore does, too. Undoubtedly the werewolf will come after him, and if luck favours Lord Voldemort, so will the Potter boy. But of course, the attacks on the castle will prevent Dumbledore from leaving."

__

Good God. "Yes, my Lord. You will have him as soon as I find him."

"Good. _Crucio_."

Pain. Severus began to scream.

Thousands of white-hot blades were tearing him apart from the inside...the muscles were spasming, twisting, tearing...fire was ripping through his body. 

It went on for a long time.

Just when Severus thought he was going to pass out from the pain, Voldemort lifted the spell. Severus lay sprawled on the ground, gasping. He couldn't have stood up if he had tried. His legs were like jelly, his arms were useless. He could still feel his muscles twitching, in shock from the abrupt end to the pain.

"Let that be a lesson to you, Severus," whispered the Dark Lord, looking disdainfully down at him. "I showed you forgiveness this time. Do not disappoint me again." Severus nodded weakly, dimly aware of a hot trail of blood streaming from his nose.

Two large, hulking Death Eaters hauled him to his feet and stood on either side of him, holding him up, for the rest of the meeting.

What was said wasn't particularly useful. The Headmaster had already guessed at most of what was said. Voldemort wanted to recruit the Dementors, the giants, werewolves, the Veela. He assigned the Death Eaters to various groups of creatures, and the circle disbanded.

Severus was just preparing to Disapparate when someone put a hand on his shoulder. He turned around. "Pettigrew," he spat.

Wormtail lifted his chin defiantly, though his eyes showed fear. _He's no less of a snivelling coward than he was as a child_, Severus thought disgustedly. "S-Snape," Wormtail began. "Has Sirius been at Hogwarts?"

"How the hell would I know?" Severus snarled. "What your psychotic friend Black does is nothing to do with me."

"Who knows of his innocence?" Pettigrew asked nervously. "Because if he finds me..."

Severus's nose hadn't stopped bleeding and his muscles were still trembling. He bit back a sarcastic reply. It probably wouldn't do to get into an argument with Voldemort's lackey. "I don't know."

"W-Well..." Pettigrew stuttered. "Well, if you find Black, he's an Animagus. A big black dog. Cast the _irreversivo_ spell on him so he can't transform." His eyes took on a nasty gleam. "I wonder what he'd prefer...torture at the hands of the Dark Lord or the rest of his life in Azkaban...?"

"I don't know and I don't care, Pettigrew. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back."

He Disapparated. 

** 

Stumbling painfully through Brasov a few second later, he wondered whether he should just have stunned Pettigrew and brought him with him. As much as he enjoyed Black's status as the second most feared wizard in the world, he would also enjoy seeing Pettigrew's ratty little face when he realised he was stuck in a room with Black and Lupin. He knew for a fact Black wouldn't think twice about laying into him, but he was quite curious as to how Lupin would react. _Ah, the possibilities_...

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius and Remus were sitting in tense silence in the living room when they heard the front door open. They both jumped up and once and went out into the hall. There stood a pale, shaky Severus, glowering at them from beneath a curtain of greasy hair. A trail of dried blood crept down from his nose.

"Severus," Remus said, looking at him in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Lupin," snapped Severus.

"What happened?" asked Sirius.

Severus scowled and began walking stiffly towards the stairs. "I'll explain tomorrow."

He got up about three steps when he went pale and would have fallen down if Remus hadn't reacted quickly and grabbed his arm. Severus blinked dazedly a few times.

"Do you need a hand?" asked Remus. Severus was looking extremely dizzy. He was holding the banister so tightly his knuckles were white.

"No, thank you," Severus snapped, regaining his balance, and began up the stairs again. He made it to the top in one piece.

Remus sighed. He looked at Sirius, who was glowering up after him. "Bloody idiot," he muttered. "Too much pride, that one."

"Well, he probably wants some rest. That looked like the after-effects of the cruciatus."

"Hmm," said Sirius. "Well, seeing as that's him back, I think I'll head off to bed."

Remus nodded. "Me too."

It was a while before either of them got any sleep. Voldemort was obviously strong again, and the Death Eaters had been only to ready to return to him. Things were looking bad.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

The next morning Sirius wandered into the kitchen to find Remus standing with a cup of coffee and the Daily Prophet. He looked up as Sirius came in. "Morning," he said, folding up the paper and putting it in the bin, an action that wasn't lost on Sirius.

"Morning," said Sirius. "Anything interesting in the Prophet?"

"No," said Remus. Too quickly. Sirius raised an eyebrow. Remus sighed. "Yes."

Sirius looked at him expectantly.

"Well, you're apparently being blamed for attacks on Muggles and Muggle-borns back home. I don't know whether they genuinely think it's you or they're just trying to cover up behind the Death Eaters, but...well...you can read it."

Sirius grabbed the paper out of the bin. His picture was on the front page. _Well, if nothing else, I looked the part_, he thought.

**__**

SIRIUS BLACK ATTACKS!

Azkaban escapee, Sirius Black, was spotted last night, just yards away from the site of an attempted attack on the home of a Muggle-born family in Hogsmeade. Mr. Connor Flanagan and his family alerted authorities when two Chimaeras were let into their home by persons unknown at approximately eleven o'clock pm. Mr. Flanagan was able to get his family out of the house via broomstick from a top-storey window and contact the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures using a neighbour's fireplace. 

Walden McNair, who works for the committee, reports having seen Black hiding in a neighbour's back garden. "I had just disposed of the creatures in the house, and I was checking around for signs of any more when I saw Black in someone's back garden. There was no mistaking him. Before I could get my wand out he'd gone. Honestly, is nowhere safe from the likes of him these days?"

Residents of Hogsmeade are strongly advised to be home well before dark and to increase security wards around their homes. William Ahearn, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, says: "Black clearly isn't worried about being caught. Everyone should make sure they are stocked up on floo powder, and that anyone without an Apparating license is never left alone in the house, especially at night. Black's confidence will be his downfall. If he is found, the Dementor's Kiss will be administered immediately to prevent a repetition of last time. If anyone does see Black, do not go near him. Contact the proper authorities and we'll deal with him."

We have to hope that Black doesn't manage to outwit the Ministry again. Until he is caught, it is unlikely that anyone will feel safe in their beds at night.

Susan Williams, special correspondent

Sirius gaped furiously at the newspaper. "I can't..." he began. "Shit!"

Remus was looking worriedly at him. "At least if everyone thinks you're over there they won't come looking for you over here," he said, sounding somewhat uncertain. "And they don't know you're an Animagus, still."

"Pettigrew does!" Sirius snapped. "All he has to do is tell his little friend, McNair, and I'm completely stuffed."

Remus shook his head. "They won't. The Death Eaters won't want you to get caught. They're using you as a scapegoat. You see? As long as you're free..."

"They can keep blaming me," finished Sirius dully.

Remus sighed. "I know it doesn't seem it, but for now it's probably for the best."

"Yep," Sirius said with a mirthless laugh. "What's a few more names to my list, anyway? I'll get the Kiss if they catch me. Simple as that. I won't get the chance to say my piece. Even if they did give me Veritaserum they'd just think I could lie through it."

"We'll find Peter," Remus said. "They're getting confident. They'll make a mistake sooner or later."

"Knowing Peter, it'll be sooner," muttered Sirius. "Little rat. How is it that Voldemort and his little followers have everyone terrified when they're made up of people like Pettigrew, Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy?"

Remus shook his head. "Who knows? Lucius Malfoy can be pretty ruthless, I hear, but I see what you mean. Anyway, we'll just have to concentrate on finding Vladimir before they do."

Sirius nodded resignedly. "Is Snape up yet?"

"Yes, Black, I am," said a voice from behind him.

"Morning, Severus," said Remus. Sirius rolled his eyes. Why did Remus bother? Snape didn't have a civil bone in his body. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes." Snape walked into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee.

"So what happened last night, then?" Sirius asked impatiently.

Snape scowled and explained. Sirius wasn't remotely surprised to hear about either Draco Malfoy or himself. He didn't know much about the Malfoy boy, but if his father and what Harry said were anything to go by, he'd jump at the chance to be_ just like Father_. "So what are you going to do?" he asked tightly.

"I'm going to speak to the Headmaster first. See what he thinks. I suggest you try to keep a low profile, Black, difficult as that may be for you."

"Why don't you just do it, Snape?" snapped Sirius. "Nothing would make you happier, would it? Especially if Harry did come after me. Two birds with one stone and all that."

"Sirius--"

"Don't be a fool, Black," hissed Snape. "I'm surprised you haven't gone barrelling in there already to get Pettigrew. Bloody Gryffindors. He was another one I spoke to last night, by the way. He seemed very pleased about the prospect of you being taken to Voldemort."

"Well, as long as you two are happy," Sirius replied, his voice dripping with malice. "You Death Eaters have to stick together, don't you?"

"_Sirius_--"

"You're as bad as any of them, Black. You just preferred to work under your own steam, didn't you? Or have you forgotten about the little attempted murder back at school? You didn't give a toss about your friends. Potter could have been killed and he--" here he jerked his head towards Remus "--could have been..._disposed_ of. Isn't it odd how Pettigrew was the only one who wasn't involved? It must have been your influence in the end, mustn't it?"

"Haven't forgotten about that yet, Snape? I suppose, after all you did for your _Master_, it's the one pathetic little shred you could hold onto that could let you put the blame elsewhere. The important difference being that _I didn't kill anyone_. How many innocent people did you kill, Snape? And enjoyed it? You probably don't even know, do you? Typical Slytherin. No wonder you all went running to Voldemort. It's _pathetic_. You and your little friend Malfoy. You two were doomed to become murderers from the start and--"

"What was that, Black? Coming from the idiot who couldn't even tell that one of his best friends was one? The idiot who left Precious Potter and family in the hands of a Death Eater? Messed up a bit there, didn't we?"

Sirius saw red. He swung at Snape and was rewarded with a loud _smack!_ where his fist made contact with Snape's face.

"Sirius!" Remus started forward to place himself between the two, but before he could, Snape had his wand out and had it trained on Sirius's face.

"If you ever do that again, Black," he said in a low, barely-audible voice, "you will be very sorry indeed."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. The dull ache in his right hand was satisfying. He was shaking with rage. "True colours showing themselves again, Snape?" 

Remus stomped over, grabbed the wand out of Snape's hand and tossed it through into the living room. Sirius was surprised at the thunderous expression on his friend's face. One look at Snape, who was looking blankly at his wand hand, told him that he felt the same. "You two are just beyond belief," Remus stated flatly. "Can't you stop hurling accusations at each other? You keep covering the same ground, over and over again. Why can't either of you just _let...it...go_?"

His angry, questioning gaze flitted between the two. Snape pushed past Sirius and left the room. Sirius glared after him. "Bastard."

Remus shook his head. "Leave it, Sirius."

Sirius's mind felt split in two. He knew Remus was right. It was all in the past, and he knew it would be easier if he and Snape could just ignore each other. But just the sight of him made Sirius _so angry_. He was one of the scum who had worshipped the man--the _thing_--who had killed James and Lily. And he had the nerve to call him, Sirius, a murderer? If there was any justice he would have been the one who had served twelve years in Azkaban. But instead he got a good job--a _respectable_ job--and suddenly everything he did is okay. Forgotten about. When Sirius's own face was plastered all over _Wanted_ posters the world over.

Generally, Sirius wasn't one for self-pity. But if one thing could drive him to it, it was seeing how the guilty party got treated when he himself didn't have a home, a wand, and was going to have to spend the next God-only-knew how long as a dog just to keep his own soul.

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Wayhey! Long chapter for me, that one. Okay, thanks go to: **themidnightangel** - that was a bit more heated. I think part of the reason I'm not writing about them duelling is because I can think of the Unforgivables, which they wouldn't use, then there's things like Jelly-Legs, and that seems a bit...feeble. I don't know! I just thought a good smack in the face would have to do instead! **Louise** - thanks! The mark does sound horrible. I can't seem to get an image of it in my head, though. **Reva Ayanami** - I know, I'm hopeless. And this one took even longer. Sorry! Remus is feeling the weight even more now! It's okay, though, Snape is safe and sound...for now. Bwahahahaha! **naughtynat** - yep, he Apparated at the end. Sirius was almost, but not quite, kind of, maybe a little bit, slightly semi-concerned, yeh. But he probably isn't now! **The Jedi Wizard Hobbit** - Vlad should be back in the next chapter. We'll learn a bit about why he was so irate (for lack of a better word!). And Remus and the other werewolves will definitely come into play - I can't wait to write that bit! **mrs snape** - I am cruel to him, I know. But he's fine! **Loony Toons **- aw, thanks! Yeh, I agree with what you said there. The mad passionate love thing in particular just strikes me as daft. I'm glad you like it! **Jakia** - yeh, I find I warm up to Snape the more I read, too. He's not all bad! Cheers for reviewing! **Flora** - thanks, I wasn't sure about it. But as long as its clear what's going on I'll keep it. Thanks for the review!

The next one definitely won't take as long as this one did. Sorry!


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